Luke 2:4 - Plain English Version

⁴ Joseph belonged to the family of David, the man that was Israel’s big boss a long time ago. David grew up in the town called Bethlehem, in Judea country, but Joseph lived in a town called Nazareth, in Galilee country. So Joseph had to go south to Bethlehem, to put his name on the right list.

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

American Standard Version (1901)

⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;

Common English Bible

⁴ Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea.

Catholic Public Domain Version

⁴ Then Joseph also ascended from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

Luke 2:4 Cross References

Genesis 35:19

That’s how Rachel died. Then Jacob’s mob buried her near the road that goes to the town called Efrath. Another name for Efrath is Bethlehem.

Genesis 48:7

Jacob also said to Joseph, “I want your 2 sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to have their own tribes and their own land, because your mother Rachel only gave me 2 sons. She had you and your brother Benjamin. And then she died, and I was really sad. At that time, we were going from Paddan Aram country to Canaan country. Your mother died in Canaan country, on the way to the town called Efrath. And I buried her body near the road that goes to Efrath.” Another name for that town is Bethlehem.

Matthew 1:20

While Joseph thought about that, he went to sleep and had a dream. He saw an angel messenger from God. The angel said, “Joseph, you are from the family of David. Look, you can go ahead and marry Mary. Don’t be too frightened to do that. You see, her baby is from the Holy Spirit, not from another man.

Matthew 2:23

So he took his family up north to Galilee. He got to the town called Nazareth, and he stayed there. A long time before that, one of God’s men wrote about this, and it is in God’s book. He wrote, “People will say that God’s special man is from Nazareth.” And that happened after Joseph took his family to live at Nazareth.

Luke 2:5

Joseph took Mary with him. She was his promised wife, and she was carrying a baby inside her at that time.

Luke 4:16

Then Jesus went to his own town, called Nazareth. That was the town he grew up in. He went to the Jewish meeting house there on Saturday, like he always did, and he stood up to read to the people from God’s book.

John 1:46

Nathaniel didn’t believe the words he heard, and he said, “No, Nazareth is a rubbish place. Nothing good ever comes from there.” But Philip said, “Come and meet him.”

John 7:42

God’s book says that he will be from David’s family, and that he will be born in the town called Bethlehem, where David lived, in Judea country.”

1 Samuel 16:1

After that, God said to Samuel, “Saul is not a good boss any more. I will not help him now. Why do you keep on being sad for him? Forget about him now. Get a bottle of olive oil. Go and see that old man Jesse at the place called Bethlehem. I picked one of his sons to be the new big boss of Israel.”

1 Samuel 16:4

Samuel listened to God, and he went to Bethlehem. After he got there, the elders of the town came to meet him. They were really afraid. They were so frightened that they shook, and they asked, “Did you come with good news? Or are you angry with us?”

1 Samuel 20:6

If your father asks about me, tell him, ‘David asked me, “Is it all right for me to go to my home town, Bethlehem? Every year my family comes together there, to kill animals and burn them for God.” ’